


Atashi no tān, dorō!

by taotruths



Series: Makoto Niijima Week 2018 [2]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Children's card game, Duel Monsters, Gen, I Don't Even Know, In a way, Oh hey a fic that has Makoto but no ShuMako, Post-Canon, Stealth Crossover, for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 07:16:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16058201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taotruths/pseuds/taotruths
Summary: Day 2: Broadening HorizonsMakoto decides to get into a new game. But not just any new game, a children's card game!





	Atashi no tān, dorō!

**Author's Note:**

> This was the most spontaneous and out there idea I’ve ever had for a fanfic. Other than that time I wrote a Pokemon Fate/Stay Night Avengers fic.
> 
> Long story short, I got hooked on this idea, took too long to make it, that’s why it’s a couple days late, other themed fics will follow into the next couple days, and next week, some themes I’m skipping over since I don’t have that many good ideas. 
> 
> Anyways, for Makoto Niijima Week Day 2: it’s Broadening Horizons. Enjoy!
> 
> T/N: "Atashi no tān, dorō!" means "It's my turn, draw!"

“And with my next attack, Ryuji loses!” Ann said with a cheeky grin. The blonde boy simply groaned, throwing his cards onto the table.

“Dammit! That’s like four times you’ve beaten me now!” he said with a loud sigh. Slumping into his chair, Haru then patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t fret Ryuji-kun. I haven’t even scraped a single victory against Takamaki-san either.” Ryuji rolled his eyes, sitting forwards. He then took a piece of chalk in his hand and clumsily made a line on a scoreboard.

“And that is Ann’s seventh straight win in our Phantom Thief League. I don’t know how you’re so good at this game.” Ann then proceeded to give a bit of a smug grin, until the sound of the door behind them opened up, Makoto walking through with her cell phone in hand.

“Break’s almost over everyone.” Both Ryuji and Ann sighed, but the playing card set up that was on the roof caught the brunette’s attention.

“What’s all this?” she asked, looking over the cards. Ann then smiled.

“Oh, it’s a game I used to play a lot. It’s called Duel Monsters.” Makoto glanced over each card, looking at each picture.

“This is some fascinating artwork...but what’s all the text here in the space? What are these numbers and symbols?” she asked. Ann leaned down with a smile.

“You want to try playing?” Makoto looked it over, then shook her head.

“Wait, this is just silly. What would I gain over playing this children’s card game?”

“It’s not silly, it’s cool!” Ryuji and Ann yelled back. Makoto covered one of her ears, wincing a bit.

“I’m sorry, that was rude of me. I just don’t think it’s a hobby that I would get myself into.” She then apologized a second time, where Haru then decided to step in.

“Don’t be sorry Mako-chan. I didn’t think much of the game either. But then Ryuji insisted that I try it at least once, and well...I had a lot of fun!” Haru gave a big smile, where Ryuji gave her a thumbs up.

“Yeah! Don’t knock it till you try it! And if you don’t like it, then that’s okay! We know it’s not for everyone.” Makoto looked at the three then nodded a bit.

“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try and have a little fun. I’m free tomorrow, so you can teach me how to play then.” Ann then did a little fist pump, as did Ryuji, but then Makoto gave a small piercing stare.

“But before you teach me, you both are going to finish your work for the weekend, right?” She said in a menacing tone. The two then gulped, then nodded slowly.

“Great!” The bell then rang, where Makoto then waved everyone off, Haru following Makoto. Meanwhile, Ryuji and Ann stood paralyzed in fear for a brief moment, before both heading back to their own classes.

* * *

_The following day:_

Makoto checked her phone one more time, as the time ticked down. They were all planning to meet at noon, yet it was already 15 minutes past 12. She was thinking about texting them again, but then she heard the two familiar voices being heard down the street.

“I told you, nothing beats the original! Seriously, who has the time to learn all of the new mechanics that were introduced?”

“That’s why you keep losing, your deck has absolutely no strategy other than having high level beatsticks on the field!”

The two then stopped arguing for a second, where they saw Makoto waving to them. They both then hurried over, Ann giving a bit of a sheepish smile.

“Eheheh...sorry we are late. I went over a few different strategies before coming here, and had to work with Ryuji with some stuff for class.” Ryuji then pumped his chest out, very proudly.

“Yeah, we showed that assignment what for! Now it’s time to duel!” He then took a few glances around the three of them.

“Speaking of no-shows, where’s Yusuke? And Haru?” he asked looking around. Ann took out her phone, dialing a number.

“I’m going to call Haru and see if she is still coming.”

“I’m here! My apologies everyone!” from behind the group came the blue haired boy, seemingly a bit exhausted.

“Yusuke? Why are you so tired?” Ryuji grabbed a water bottle out of his bag, where Yusuke accepted it wholeheartedly, drinking it down very quickly.

“Once again, I apologize for the delay. I was so busy looking through catalogs and deck recipes that I lost track of time.” He then pulled out a small plain looking plastic box from his bag.

“I only managed to scrape together some pleasing looking cards for my deck, but I’m afraid I couldn’t get some of the best.”

Ann then sighed a bit, putting a hand to her forehead.

“Of course Yusuke would be the one to make a deck based on complimenting monsters.” The boy then stood up straight, clearing his throat.

“I have also brought a friend from Kosei to play with us, if no one minds.”

Everyone cocked their head for a bit, until Yusuke directed their attention to the person walking up from the alleyway. She gave a smile, where Makoto recognized her. Yusuke then proceeded, waving his arm in a dramatic fashion.

“Please welcome our wondrous guest-”

“Togo-san!” Makoto interrupted him, running up to the Kosei girl, where they both then bowed to each other.

“It’s wonderful to see you again Niijima-san.” the two girls then started talking, while Yusuke felt a little irritated that his introduction was stolen.

“I see that all of Amamiya-kun’s...entourage has arrived.” Hifumi said as they walked back to the group. Ann then got off the phone with a bit of a sigh.

“Well, all except one. Haru’s going to be super late.” She then placed her phone back into her bag.

“She had a meeting with some more of those big wigs from her company’s place. She did say that she would come later like, in an hour-ish? If we’re still going for a round or so by that time.”

Everyone’s attention was then directed at the house in front of them. Without another word, they all stepped inside.

* * *

“Geez, you guys take a really, really long time! Was Inari holding everyone up again?” Yusuke then objected to her claim, where she just waved him off, bringing out a few boxes.

“Yeah, so anyways, I have some cards from back in the day, and kept buying them on the cheap too. Thought I’d make some money selling them kinda second hand or to some guys who’d really want some stuff. Never actually did get around to selling them though, with the whole social anxiety thing back then.”

She then opened the boxes, where row upon row of cards were shown.

“Buuut, it’s all yours for the taking to try out! Though I don’t have many specific archetypes or whatever.” she said with a sheepish smile.

Everyone then started digging into the card boxes, trying to figure out what card they needed. Ann was already ahead, followed by Ryuji, both of them digging through what was available. Yusuke examined each card carefully, before deciding which one was best. Hifumi on the other hand was meticulous, reading every card in detail before putting it back as carefully as she could.

Makoto on the other hand was a bit lost.

She looked over one card, not understanding what some of the text was, switching it for another. A hand then made its way onto her shoulder, the hand belonging to Ann.

“I’ll show you what you need senpai.” she said with a smile. Makoto then blushed a bit from being referred to by the honorific, one that she hasn’t heard in quite a while from any of the member of the Phantom Thieves. Still, Ann then proceeded to teach her the basics of the game. From Monster cards, to the various amount of support cards that they had in the room.

Twenty minutes later, everyone had built a fairly simple deck, but enough to duel each other with. Makoto and Hifumi, being the most recent newbies at the game, decided to have a duel.

They decided to move out of Futaba’s room, and into the main room downstairs. Once the table, playing mat, and calculators were set; the duel began.

“I’ll start. First I summon Queen’s Knight in attack mode, and place one card facedown. This ends my turn.” Once the two cards were placed on the board. Everyone then looked at Makoto, who was still reading all of the cards that were in her hand. Ann then poked her in the shoulder.

“Oh! My apologies! It’s, my turn? Correct?” Everyone nodded, where Makoto then drew one card from her deck.

‘Okay...so, I need to summon something that has higher attack power than the monster she summoned. Seems simple enough.’

Makoto reached for a card, where Ann then intervened.

“Wait Makoto, you can’t summon that one. It’s level 5.”

Makoto eyes widened for a bit, realizing such a silly mistake.

‘Oh right, I can only summon monsters that are level 4 or lower that don’t need tributes. In that case…’

She then placed a different card onto the field, where it resembled a Ninja like dog.

“I normal summon this monster, and use it to attack yours. You lose 300 life points.” She said almost autonomously. Futaba groaned, now standing up.

“Boooring! Put some energy into it! Sound like those guys you hear in the show! Be all ‘Ninja dog kick attack’ or something!” she said flailing her arms. Ann however caught one of them, and lowered it.

“They’re taking it at their own pace, so let them. No need to do the stuff we usually do yet.” Futaba then sighed, and sat back down. Hifumi then flipped up one of the cards she had set.

“I activate this trap card. Time machine! You may have destroyed it this turn Niijima-san, but now it comes right back!” she then placed the once destroyed monster back onto the field. Makoto then looked through her cards again.

‘Well, that didn’t work. Since she used a trap card like that, maybe I can do the same.’ She then placed one card face down in front of her, and signaled that it was Hifumi’s turn.

The shogi master then drew a card, with a bit of a smile.

“I summon, King’s Knight!” she shouted with glee, placing it on the board.

“And when I have Queen’s Knight, and King’s Knight together, they call forth the mighty-” she then paused in the middle of the sentence, frantically looking through her deck, before settling on the card she wanted to use.

“Jack’s Knight!” she then placed the card onto the field, and then shuffling her deck.

She then pointed towards the Ninja dog card on Makoto’s side.

“I’ll use Jack Knight to destroy your Nin-Ken Dog!” Makoto then moved the card off of the field, where she then tried to punch in the numbers on the calculator, but Hifumi already was moving up ahead.

“Then my King’s Knight attacks you directly!” Makoto was able to catch up at this point, where she then gave a small smirk.

* * *

_Makoto: 4000 - (1900 - 1800 = 100) - 1600 = 2300_

* * *

“You have fallen into my little trap Togo-san!” She then flipped over the one set card that she had placed earlier.

“This card, Damage Condenser, allows me to discard one card as its cost, but then allows me to special summon a monster based on the amount of direct damage I took. Since I took 1600 damage from King’s Knight…” she then started searching through the deck, until she found her monster.

“It allows me to special summon, this card, Bountiful Artemis. This at the very least halts your advance.” she said confidently. Ann did a small fist pump to herself.

“Yes! She’s learned so well!” Hifumi then smiled as well, placing one of the cards from her hand to the field facedown.

Drawing one card from the deck, Makoto’s eyes widened, scrambling to her graveyard pile.

“Uh, since I don’t have any Spell or Trap cards on my field, I can Special Summon this monster to my field, the Treeborn Frog!” Once she finished placing the monster onto the field, she then looked over her cards, including the newly drawn one.

‘This card...Ann gave me this one. If I remember how this one works, then I can potentially win this game real fast!”

She then got a smile, taking three of her cards and placing them in the graveyard.

“I send these three monster cards from my hand to the graveyard, which then allows me to special summon, Montage Dragon!” the miniature crowd around the table gasped, where they then they all turned to Ann.

“Wasn’t that the same card that you used to beat Ryuji the other day?” asked Futaba.

Ryuji just groaned, while Makoto proceeded with her turn.

“Montage Dragon’s original attack points are equal to the total number of level stars of the three monsters I sent to the graveyard. I sent level 5 Darklord Marie, level 5 Ansatsu, and level 7 Angel O7, which makes it…” punching in the numbers again, she then got a bit of a grin, showing Hifumi the numbers.

“5100 ATK! But that’s not all, I tribute my Bountiful Artemis, alongside my Treeborn Frog, and summon Cosmo Queen!”

Once the field was re-arranged, Makoto engaged in battle, with her Montage Dragon destroying Queen’s Knight.

* * *

_Hifumi: 3700 - (5100 - 1500 = 3600) = 100_

* * *

One more move from Cosmo Queen was all that was needed for the win, but Hifumi flipped one of her cards up.

“Not so fast Niijima-san. Reverse card open! Option Hunter! Since a monster of mine was destroyed in battle, this card’s effect allows me to regain life points equal to the destroyed monster’s ATK!” she said with confidence.

* * *

_Hifumi: 100 + 1500 = 1600_

* * *

Makoto grimaced a bit, before proceeding with having Cosmo Queen to destroy King’s Knight.

* * *

_Hifumi: 1600 - (2900 - 1600 = 1300) = 300_

* * *

She then set the remaining card in her hand onto the field, ending her turn.

Hifumi then drew her next card, getting a bit of a smile.

“Spell card activate, White Elephant’s Gift! This allows me to send a non-effect monster, like my Jack’s Knight, to the graveyard, in order to draw two more cards!” Once she drew the cards, she seemed a little surprised, where she then placed another one onto the field.

“Then I’ll activate One Day of Peace. Both of us draws one card, but until the end of your turn, neither of us will take battle damage.” she explained as she drew a card. Makoto then drew one as well, where Hifumi ended her turn with one more card set.

Once Makoto’s turn rolled around, the card she drew wasn’t particularly useful in her situation, but it would keep up the pressure.

“First, Darklord Marie’s effect is active, since it’s in the graveyard, I gain 200 life points.”

* * *

_Makoto: 2300+ 200 = 2500_

* * *

“Then I activate the Equip Spell, Malevolent Nuzzler, and I equip it to Cosmo Queen. She gains 700 ATK when equipped with this card.”

* * *

_Cosmo Queen:_

_ATK: 2900 + 700 = 3600_

* * *

“Then I activate my trap card, ‘Side Effects?’ question mark included. You can draw from 1 to 3 cards, but for each card you draw, I gain 2000 LP.” This caused Ryuji to flip out a bit.

“Holy crap! That’s insane! I think it would be safe to go for just one card.” Ryuji said holding his hand to his head.

“There’s no way I would pick-” Before he could finish his sentence, Hifumi, without any hesitation drew three cards, where her hand now had six cards.

“FOR REAL?!” Ryuji’s yell resonated throughout the room, where everyone had to cover their ears from the shout. Makoto shook it off, then setting the last card in her hand to the field.

* * *

_Makoto: 2500 + 6000 = 8500_

* * *

Hifumi then drew from the deck again, putting on a wicked smile.

“This duel is over, Niijima.”

An intense aura filled the room, where she then slammed one of the cards onto the table.

“First I activate The Warrior Returning Alive! This allows me to return my King’s Knight from the grave into my hand. But that’s not all, I activate Silent Doom! This allows me to special summon one Normal Monster from my graveyard to the field in defense mode, and I choose Queen’s Knight!”

Makoto was taken aback by this, while everyone watched in awe. Ryuji however, was the most dumbstruck.

“Oh shit, I think Hifumi’s got this one in the bag.”

“Next is the spell card Pot of Benevolence, which returns two cards of my choosing to the deck. And I choose Jack’s Knight and One Day of Peace.”

The two cards were placed at the top and bottom, and Hifumi then shuffled the remainder. Ann then nodded.

“Yep, she’s won this one.”

“I summon King’s Knight once again! And since there’s King and Queen, I call forth the Jack’s Knight that is from my deck!”

Hifumi’s smile didn’t falter, activating the one key card she needed.

“Now I play Polymerization, and fuse my Three Knights, into Arcana Knight Joker!”

‘But that card, it only has 3800 ATK, it can’t defeat my Montage Dragon.’ Makoto wondered inside her head. She then looked down at the card she had set earlier.

Hifumi then held out a card in front of her.

“Then, another Spell card, Assault Armor. This can be equipped to a Warrior monster on my field. But if I send it to the graveyard, the monster it was equipped to can attack twice this turn!”

Once she placed the card into the graveyard pile, she then placed another onto her field.

“And with my Knight being the only monster I control, he shall now be infused with the power, of this card! Solitary Sword of Poison! Now when he attacks, his original ATK and DEF values are doubled during battle!”

Yusuke’s eyes then lit up like a Christmas tree.

“I see! Now she is able to combat both of her monsters easily!”

Hifumi then flipped up the final card that she had set earlier in the duel.

“Finally, the trap card, Metalmorph! By equipping it to my Knight, he gains an additional 300 ATK, but during battle phase, he then gains half of the ATK of the monster’s he battling with as well!”

“Doesn’t that seem a little bit like overkill?” Ryuji asked the group. Ann simply shook her head.

“Nope. It’s completely necessary for this One Turn Kill.”

Hifumi then stood up, pointing towards Makoto’s field.

“And now, Arcana Knight Joker attacks Cosmo Queen!”

Makoto smirked, flipping over her face down card.

“I activate the trap, Magic Cylinder! This stops your attack, and you take damage equal to the ATK of the attacking monster! This means I win.”

Hifumi then also smirked.

“Not yet! Arcana Knight Joker’s effect activates! If a card effect targets him, I can discard one card of the same type, to negate the effect!”

She then placed the last card in her hand, the trap Magic Jammer, into the graveyard. Hifumi then took the calculator to add up the total of Arcana Knight Joker’s ATK.

* * *

_Arcana Knight Joker (vs. Cosmo Queen):_

ATK: 3800 x 2 = 7600  
_7600 + 300 = 7900  
_ 7900 + 1800 = 9700

* * *

_Makoto: 8500 - (9700 - 3600 = 6100) = 2400_

* * *

“And now, with my second attack, I’ll attack Montage Dragon!”

* * *

_Arcana Knight Joker (vs. Montage Dragon):_  
  
_ATK: 3800 x 2 = 7600_  
_7600 + 300 = 7900_  
_7900 + 2050 = 9950_

* * *

_Makoto: 2400 - (9950 - 5100 = 4850) = 0 (Lose)_

_Hifumi: 300 (Win)_

* * *

Makoto sighed a bit, before standing up.

“I can see why everyone here really likes to play this game.”

She then held out a hand to her opponent, with a big smile.

“Good game Hifumi. I hope to challenge you again someday.”

Hifumi also smiled, nodding, proceeding to shake the open hand.

“I look forward to that rematch.” The rest of the thieves then smiled, where Ryuji then walked up to the table.

“Alright I’m heading up next! I’m gonna bring my best!” Suddenly, the knocking was heard on the door, Futaba running up to open it. Once it was opened, a cheerful cry was heard from it.

“I’m here everyone! So sorry that I am late.” Haru said quite sweetly. She then took a look at the playing table, along with Ryuji, where she then took out her deck of cards.

“I believe I should play next.” her demeanor didn’t change, but the words felt like ice.

“I have some frustrations that I need to work out.” Ryuji just simply nodded, and allowed her to the table, with nobody objecting. Ann and Makoto moved to the side, where they started talking out of earshot from the group.

“So, what do you think?” Ann asked.

Makoto looked at Ryuji and Haru playing, where Haru already seemed to get the upper hand on him.

“It’s...fun. A lot of fun. I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much, but once I saw Hifumi’s drive to win, it...pushed me to do my best in this game.”

She then gave a warm smile to Ann.

“Thank you Ann. You were a great teacher.”

Ann simply blushed, where she started nervously stroking one of her twintails in embarrassment.

“Aw...did I fall into some sort of trap card of yours Makoto?”

Makoto simply just chuckled, standing up, and brushing her skirt off.

“No, but come on. Let’s go try building another deck. I still have lots to learn if I want to become the champion of the Phantom Thief league.”

"Oh you..." Ann started, before the two of them took off to the next room, where all the cards were laid out.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all can forgive the incredibly weeby title, but this theme has finally been wrapped up too. Maybe a couple days too late, but forgive me if I wanted to go all out on this one.
> 
> I might have tried a little too hard with this one lol.
> 
> I'm sorry that this fic is heavily reliant on Yu-Gi-Oh as well.


End file.
